The $2.6 billion Infinity Planet attraction is set to redefine entertainment in Australia. This ambitious venture will rise across 68 hectares of farmland at Elimbah, strategically located between Brisbane and Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. According to RHC City CEO Ramin Ahmadi, “For the first time in Australia, we have a hotel, theme park, entertainment centre, music centre and shopping centre all under one umbrella.”
RHC City, founded by Ahmadi, has already submitted development plans to Moreton Bay Regional Council. The project promises a 5-star international hotel, a 9,000-seater city hall, and a “global cultural mall” representing 50 different countries. Ahmadi emphasized the importance of cultural representation, noting that over 110 languages are spoken in the Brisbane area. “This is very good for us to bring this audience to our city and find their own mother language, mother culture and roots in our pavilion,” he stated.
Strategic Location and Timing
Ahmadi, who also founded the Neguin Group in Malaysia, aims to have the first stage completed in time for the Brisbane 2032 Games. After an extensive search across Australia, the team selected a strawberry and macadamia farm at Elimbah. “The Gold Coast has a lot of international theme parks already there, and they are very successful,” Ahmadi explained. “This area [is] not very far from the major city, we are very close to Australia Zoo, and also north of Brisbane with no big theme parks like that.”
Ahmadi’s extensive experience includes more than 50 major projects across the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions, such as the Tehran Mega Mall, one of the world’s largest shopping centres. “We have very good connections internationally with different financial, different banking, different investment companies,” he added. “We are bringing a very strong partner from Taiwan so they can make the city a green city and sustainable.”
Challenges and Comparisons
The announcement comes as previous theme park projects in the region have faced significant hurdles. Aussie World, opened in 1989, remains the last major theme park built north of Brisbane. Sanad Capital’s $350 million park at Glenview was abandoned after the company went into liquidation in 2023. Similarly, Kelly Slater Wave Co’s wave park at Coolum was shelved due to council approval issues, and Surf Farm Australia’s $45 million development at Glass House Mountains has yet to break ground.
Aaron Tham, a senior lecturer in tourism at the University of Sunshine Coast, acknowledged Infinity Planet’s solid financial backing but highlighted potential challenges. “Elimbah is a high risk bushfire zone so the fire insurance would be quite a phenomenal cost,” Tham noted. “Clearly, the demands on raw materials, labour and other costs are always going to be challenging.”
“If there are delays it could potentially push closer to the $3 billion mark and that’s what we’re seeing already from infrastructure builds towards the Olympics,” Tham warned.
Developers project up to 1.2 million visitors annually, but Tham stressed the need to target both leisure and corporate markets. “They are ambitious targets and people do have choice. There are other factors at play with cost of living and discretionary income,” he said. “But if we were to pitch this to the business market, expos and conventions, then this could work.”
Community Impact and Job Creation
Meanwhile, prominent Sunshine Coast developer Graeme Juniper believes it’s “only a matter of time” before such a major development occurs in the region. “It’s time for the next generation. Projects like this will happen. It will bring people from out west, up north, down south … it will flow through to the entire Sunshine Coast,” Juniper commented.
Local resident Jason Smith, whose property is near Elimbah, expressed mixed feelings about the project. “It will change the face of Elimbah very strongly. One of the things that makes the area really attractive is that look and feel of a small country community that values its farming and its lifestyle,” Smith said. “There’s a hell of a lot of development going on around our area, but you don’t necessarily see anybody kicking up a stink about it because it’s happening slowly or in small blocks.”
Ahmadi is confident in the project’s transformative potential. “We are making more than 1,075 direct jobs and 1,320 indirect jobs in the construction time,” he stated. “During the operation time around 6,000 jobs we are providing in this city — new jobs.”
With land secured and a budget in place, Ahmadi remains optimistic about the project’s future. “We have our master developer company running the whole project. We have secured the land, we have the budget for all the infrastructure,” he asserted.
As Infinity Planet moves closer to realization, its success could signal a new era for theme parks in Australia, offering a unique blend of cultural, leisure, and corporate attractions.
